Irrigating machine

ABSTRACT

AN IRRIGATING MACHINE INCLUDES A MAIN UNIT AND ONE OR MORE AUXILIARY UNITS ALL ADAPTED TO TRAVEL ON THE GROUND AND PROPELLED BY INDIVIDUAL MOTORS, THE ELONGATED UNITS BEING PIVOTED TOGETHER AT THEIR ADJACENT ENDS FOR MOVEMENT ABOUT A COMMON AXIS USUALLY VERTICAL, SOMETIMES HORIZONTAL AND SOMETIMES BOTH. THE PIVOTAL MOVEMENT BETWEEN ONE UNIT AND THE ADJACENT UNIT IS UTILIZED TO ACTUTE A CONTROL MECHANISM SO THAT SELECTED DRIVE MOTORS ARE VARIED IN SPEED OR ARE TURNED OFF FROM TIME TO TIME IN RODER TO MAINTAIN THE DESIRED ALIGNMENT OR RELATIVE PIVOTED POSITION OF THE ADJACENT UNITS WITH RESPECT TO EACH OTHER.

United States Patent Inventor Alan Kinkead Los Altos Hills, Calil. Appl.No. 850,550

Filed Aug. 15, 1969 Patented June 28, 1971 Assignee W. R. Ame: CompanyCalif.

IRRIGATING MACHINE 16 Claims, 7 Drawing 119.

US. Cl. 180/14, 137/344 Int. Cl. 360d 1/08, .B62d 59/04 Field 01 Search180/14;

280/408; 239/147, 141, 176-180, 160,166, 148,183; 137/344; 180/14(A,B,C,D); 180/65; 137/351, 352

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,711,615 6/1955 Boice, Jr(180/6.5UX) 3,394,729 7/1968 Bower et al 137/344 PrimaryExaminer-Benjamin Hersh Assistant Examiner-John P. SilverstrimAttorney-Lothrop and West ABSTRACT: An irrigating machine includes amain unit and one or more auxiliary units all adapted to travel on theground and propelled by individual motors, the elongated units beingIRRIGATING MACHINE In recent years it has become the custom in manyparts of the world to apply irrigation water to fields, either flat orundulatory and hilly, by means of a traveling, substantially horizontalpipeline supported on wheels or the equivalents spaced apart atintervals along the pipeline and advancing along the ground under theforce of propelling motors. Water discharge devices release water atappropriate points along the pipeline to cover the subjacent ground.Because of the length of the pipeline, sometimes a quarter of a mile ormore, the pipeline is articulated, usually near the wheels, and theindividual units including one end unit called the main unit, are ableto swing or move with respect to each other. The relative motion isusually pivotal about a vertical axis and since the individual units areindividually propelled and may have different driving conditions, thereis a problem of maintaining the desired relationship between any oneunit and the successive unit. In most cases it is desired to maintainall of the units in a generally straight line whether the machinerepeatedly traverses the same area to and fro in a generally rectilinearpath or whether one end of the pipeline is rotatably anchored at acentral point and revolves as a radius about the point. In addition tothe problem of maintaining the configuration of the pipeline and arelated problem of controlling loads longitudinally between units whenthe traverse is on level ground, there are additional problems involvedand sometimes different attitudes or configurations are desired when theground is hilly.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide a means forcontrolling the operation of an articulated irrigating machine to insurethat the various units maintain the desired position either in alignmentrectilinearly or in other configurations or contours.

Another object of the invention is to provide a controlling mechanismfor a multiunit irrigating machine so that the machine, withoutsubstantial supervision, will traverse the terrain' in the desiredfashion.

Another object of the invention is to provide a controlling mechanismfor a multiunit irrigating machine able to regulate the longitudinalforces between adjacent units.

Another object of the invention is to provide an irrigating machine inwhich the controlling mechanism is simple, straightforward andeffective.

Another objective of the invention is to provide an irrigating machinewhich is compatible with irrigation equipment presently available andwhich will produce an improved result.

A further object of the invention is in general to improve irrigatingmachines.

Other objects of the invention, together with the foregoing, areattained in the embodiments thereof described in the accompanyingdescription and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. I is a front elevation of an irrigating machine constructed inaccordance with the invention, certain portions being broken away toreduce the size of the figure and some portions being showndiagrammatically;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary plan of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing in plan one attitude of successive units ofan irrigating machine;

FIG. 4 is a similar view to FIG. 3 but showing a different attitude ofthe successive machine units;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing a further attitude of themachine units;

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an arrangement for an irrigating machinedesigned to operate in opposite directions; and

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary elevation similar to FIG. 1 and showing amodified form of the invention.

In one environment, such as a field 6 to be irrigated, it is convenientto provide an irrigating machine including a number of connectedindividual units. Most of these are identical but one unit atone end maydiffer. This end unit, at the left of FIG. 1, is arbitrarily referred toas a main unit 7. It is supported on drive wheels 8 arranged to move theunit 7 in a substantially straight path along the field. There is awheeldriving motor 9 in the unit 7 which is preferably electricallyenergized. The main unit 7 also includes considerable auxiliaryequipment such as a water force pump and related equipment and in onepractical embodiment is conveniently guided by a superstructure 11having a guide roller 12 bearing upon a water supply pipe 13 extendingalongside the edge of the field 6. The pipe 13 is supported on apermanent structure 14 for the purpose. A nozzle 15, appropriatelycontrolled, discharges water into a reservoir 16 on the main unit 7 forfurther distribution. Extending from the main unit 7 is a connector 17designed to rotate with respect to the main unit 7 about a vertical axis18. The connector 17 is a part of the truss 19, itself part of anarbitrarily designated first auxiliary unit and typical of thesuccession of such trusses each part of another auxiliary unit andeffective to support its section of a water main 21 interiorly connectedat one end to the force pump on the unit 7. The main 21 convenientlyacts as one of the truss numbers and carries water for distributionthrough connector pipes 22 to a distribution manifold 23 supported onthe first auxiliary unit.

The first auxiliary truss 19 at its end remote from the main unit 7 issupported by a fixed connection 24 to a drive unit 26 including anauxiliary propelling motor 27 electrically energized and mounted todrive one or more wheels 28 supported on the ground 6.

Since it is desired to extend the water distribution over a longdistance, the first auxiliary truss 19 is supplemented by a secondauxiliary truss 31 constructed very much like the truss 19 andsupporting its own water main section 32 connected to the main 21 bymeans of a flexible hose 33. The second aux- .iliary truss 31 also haspipes 34 joined to a manifold 36 equipped to discharge water onto theground. The second auxiliary truss 31 is connected to the drive unit 26rigid on the first auxiliary unit by means of a pivot connection 37which is a least rotatable about a vertical axis. In fact, the pivotconnection can be a ball joint having a considerable range of motion.The second auxiliary truss 31 is supported by its own rigidly connectedauxiliary drive unit (not shown, but entirely similar to the unit 26). Asuccession of auxiliary trusses and drive units just like thosedescribed is connected together to extend for the desired distance; forexample, a quarter of a mile.

When the main and all auxiliary units are initially longitudinallyaligned and it is desired to have the main and all auxiliary unitscontinue to travel in a longitudinal straight line, then theoreticallythe main propelling motor 9 and all of the auxiliary propelling motors27 should operate to drive the wheels 8 and 28 at the same speed. Theinitially aligned units would then be expected to continue in alignedcondition. In practice such is not the case. Minor differences in localcontour in what is normally considered to be a flat and level field aresufficient to disturb the rectilinear arrangement. The ground may varylocally so that one wheel may slip whereas the others have traction. Thevarious wheels are not always of precisely the same diameter. Forvarious and variable reasons including wind gusts, the individual loadson the main and the several auxiliary driving units may not always bethe same. The foregoing and other factors all tend toward misalignmentof the various units.

To insure that the main and various auxiliary units bear the desiredrelationship to each other either rectilinearly or in any predeterminedpattern, I preferably provide a control mechanism as diagrammaticallyillustrated in FIGS. 3, 4 and 5 for single direction operation.Unidirectional motion is most often employed when the main end unit 7 oran equivalent arrangement acts as a central pivot and the other,auxiliary units wheel on a radius. The axis represents such a centralpivot and the successive auxiliary units, such as 19 and 31, travel inradial alignment about that axis as a principal center.

As particularly shown at the left in FIG. 4, the electric driving motor9 of the main unit (hydraulic or pneumatic or internal combustionpropulsion can be similarly arranged) or the corresponding motor of thedrive unit fixed at the end of any auxiliary unit is provided withelectricity from a source through one conductor 41 and through anotherconductor 42. While the conductor 41 is directly joined to the motor 9,the conductor 42 is not directly connected, but rather has a lead 43extending to a duplex switch 44. Within the duplex switch is one contactpair 46 controlling the lead 43, and another contact pair 47 suppliedwith electricity by a lead 48 to a bus 49 connected to the conductor 42.The contact pair 46 and 47 are normally closed. When the circuit to theconductors 41 and 42 is complete electricity can flow through andenergize the motor 9. When the switch contacts 46 are separated themotor 9 is deenergized. The first auxiliary propelling motor 27 (FIG. 1and 4) is joined on one side to the conductor 41 and is joined on theother side by a conductor 51 (at the right in FIG. 4) to a contact pair52 in another duplex switch 53. One of the contact pairs 52 in theswitch 53 is supplied with electricity through a lead 54 extending fromthe contact pair 47 in the duplex switch 44 and in a comparable fashionthe other contact pair 56 in the duplex switch 53 has a lead 57extending to the bus 49. The other side of the contact pair 56, like thecontact pair 47, has a lead 58 comparable to the lead 54 extending in alike fashion to the motor, not shown, but duplicating the motor 27 onthe next adjacent auxiliary unit. This duplex switch device and similarelectrical interconnections extend from each auxiliary unit to the nextalong the entire length of the irrigating machine.

Pursuant to the invention, means are provided for selectively actuatingthe various duplex switches. A typical example is the duplex switch andactuator mounted between the units 7 and 19. Preferably the duplexswitch 44 is physically disposed on the unit 7 and is connected to theadjacent unit 19 by an operating rod 61 having a ball connection 62 andhaving, as diagrammatically shown in FIG. 4, a connection 63 to theoperating lever 64 of the switch 44. The operating lever 64 has aninternal fulcrum 66 and an operating bar 67 adapted to actuate eitherone or the other but not both of the switch levers carrying the contacts46 and 47. The switch mounting and the ball connector 62 aresubstantially at the same level as the connector 17 when seen inelevation as in FIG. 1, but when seen in plan as in FIG. 2 are separateda short distance from the pivot axis 18. Any relative pivotal movementabout the substantially vertical axis 18 between the successive units ,7and 17 causes a substantial displacement of the bar 67 within the duplexswitch 44, the direction of actuation being in accordance with thedirection of the pivotal movement.

With this arrangement, as long as the successive units 7 and 19 aresubstantially in line, as shown in plan in FIG. 4, if that is the chosenarray, the switch lever 64 (at the left in FIG. 4) is in a neutralposition and both of the contact pairs 46 and 47 are effective so thatthe motor 9 and the corresponding motor 27 of the next unit areoperated. However, should the outward auxiliary unit 19 travel undulyfast and advance the unit 19 ahead of the inward unit 7, shown in FIG.3, then the switch lever 64 (at the left in FIGS. 3 and 4) is rocked tothe left and mechanically opens switch pair 47 to stop the advancedmotor 27. As soon as the trailing unit 7 catches up to the unit 19 andalignment is resumed then the switch contacts 47 are again closed (asillustrated in FIG. 4) and the aligned advance continues.

By the same token, should any outward auxiliary unit 19 lag behind theinward unit such as 7, as shown in FIG. 5, then the appropriate switchcontact pair 46 is opened and the motor 9 of the leading unit 7 isstopped until the lagging outboard unit 19 catches up. In this fashionthroughout the entire series of units the individual propelling motorscontinue to drive or are selectively stopped for short intervals so asto maintain the desired alignment. It may be noted, as an example, thatthe typical motor 27 can be stopped by opening of the switch pair 47when the unit 19 is leading the next inward unit 7 or may be stopped bythe opening of the series contact pair 52 when the next outward unit 31lags or trails the unit 19.

While the diagrams and description herein refer to stopping of themotors, in some more sophisticated constructions the switch pairs arereplaced by motor-speed-varying devices and the controlled motors aresimply slowed in most cases although they can be stopped, as before, inextreme cases. Also, in another arrangement, the motors do not normallyrun a maximum speed but can have their speed increased as well asdecreased by the pivot-responsive controls so that the lagging unit canbe rapidly advanced into line and, if desired the leading unit can beretarded at the same time until alignment is restored.

In some instances, particularly when a field is traversed with the samespeed at both ends instead of by rotation, the units operate in oppositedirections during successive time intervals. In that case the mechanismsof the control as shown in FIG. 3, 4 and 5 are duplicated as shown inFIG. 6. There is a master control switch 71 appropriately moved by handin accordance with the direction of operation intended. That deenergizesone of the duplex switch arrays along one side and energizes the otherduplex switch array on the other side. The effective side is always theone in the direction of motion. Thus, the corrections occur just aspreviously described no matter what the instant direction of advance maybe.

In some cases, especially where there is undulatory terrain; that is,hills to climb or valleys or swales to be traversed, it may be desirableto advance or retard certain of the units or it may be desired to havethem operate in advanced or retarded positions in order to make up forthe terrain undulation. That is to say, if an outward unit is uptiltedand has its longitudinal direction extending up a hill, some of theweight of that unit is transferred by compression longitudinally to theadjacent unit below and so on down the line. Comparably, an outward unitextending longitudinally down a hill exerts some tension on the adjacentuphill unit. A similar tension force may arise between units revolvingabout a central pivot. If such compression or tension forces areconsidered to be deleterious a correction or compensation can be made.For example, if the uphill end ofan uptilted unit is made to lagsomewhat then the unit tends to climb the hill at an angle to thegeneral direction of advance. If this angle of lag is properly chosen,the climbing unit exerts a tension force uphill that balances thedownhill compression force. Comparably, the downhill end of a unit, ifmade to lead somewhat, provides an uphill compression force tending tobalance the downhill tension due to weight of the unit. Similarly, inrotary or polar operation, the units may be made to lag or lead eachother to afford the desired interunit longitudinal compression ortension.

From the foregoing force compensations the load at the articulationbetween units can be used to provide corresponding lag or lead at theother end of the unit extending uphill or downhill. This load can bemeasured by a strain gauge (not shown) effective through an amplifier tospeed up or slow down the related motor or longitudinal lost motion canbe built into the articulation so that gross movement of adjacent unitslongitudinally toward and away from each other controls a the switchesfor corresponding motor lag or lead. Also, the actual pivotal movementof adjacent units about a horizontal fore and aft axis can be used tocontrol the lag or lead of the units since the angle between units in avertical, longitudinal plane is an indication of the uphill or downhillslant of the units.

One arrangement of this sort is shown in FIG. 7. This is sub stantiallythe same as shown in the other figures except that rather than have theduplex switch mechanism 76 mounted substantially in the horizontal planeof the pivot 77, the switch is mounted at aconsiderable elevation aboutthe ball joint 77. Thus, when the unit 78 on the right hand of FIG. 7tends to rise or rotate in a counterclockwise direction, as seen in FIG.7, with respect to the adjacent unit 79, then the duplex switch 76 isactuated to produce a corresponding lagging effect on the drive motor ofthe right-hand unit. Conversely, when the auxiliary unit 78 drops ormoves clockwise with respect to the unit 79 then the duplex switch 76 isactuated in a different direction and produces the opposite effect. Inthis way the uphill unit can be made to lag at its uphill end.Similarly, a downhill unit can be made to lead at its downhill end sincethe movement about a generally horizontal axis through the ball joint 77correspondingly controls the electrical response and governs the motoraction.

The forces between units that control the various unit motors have beenparticularly described in connection with uphill and downhillcompensation by having the units lag or lead each other. The interunitforces can be used similarly to provide comparable compensation eventhrough such forces do not arise from hilly operation. For example, iftension exists between two successive units joined by a slottedconnection, the units tend to move apart. Such motion of the slottedconnection can control the propelling motor or motors so that the unitstend to converge as they advance. They are in effect steered toward eachother. When they have converged sufficiently, the play in the slottedconnection is restored to its former value. By the same token, theseparating force has been compensated for. Comparably, if the slottedconnection is forced in the compression direction, the unit motor ormotors can be controlled to cause the successive units to tend todiverge as they advance. A corresponding separating force then overcomesthe compressive force. In this way, the units can be operated so thatthere are only momentary and small longitudinal forces between them;that is, the units automatically guide themselves so that it is notnecessary to have or provide for large force transfers between them.

I claim:

1. An irrigating machine comprising a main unit adapted to travel on theground, a main propelling motor connected to drive said main unit, anauxiliary unit adapted to travel on the ground, means for connectingsaid main unit and said auxiliary unit for relative pivotal movementabout an axis, an auxiliary propelling motor connected to drive saidauxiliary unit, a duplex switch, means for connecting one part of saidswitch to energize said main propelling motor, means for connecting theother part of said switch for energizing said auxiliary propellingmotor, and means responsive to relative pivotal movement of saidauxiliary unit relative to said main unit about said axis in onedirection for operating said one part to deenergize said main propellingmotor and responsive to relative pivotal movement of said auxiliary unitrelative to said main unit about said axis in the other direction foroperating said other part to deenergize said auxiliary propelling motor.

2. An irrigating machine as in claim 1 in which the body of said switchis mounted on one of said units and in which the moving portion of saidswitch is mechanically connected to the other of said units.

3. An irrigating machine as in claim I in which said propelling motorsare electrical and said duplex switch is normally closed and is openedwhen moved.

4. An irrigating machine as in claim 1 in which a plurality of saidauxiliary units are pivoted together for movement about parallel axes,each of said auxiliary units having its auxiliary propelling motorcontrolled by relative motion between itself and the adjacent auxiliaryunit closest to said main unit.

5. An irrigating machine as in claim I in which said duplex switches areduplicated one for each direction of advance and in which means areprovided for selecting one or the other of said duplex switches.

6. An irrigating machine as in claim I in which said axis is vertical.

7. An irrigating machine as in claim 1 in which said axis is horizontal.

8. An irrigating machine as in claim 1 in which said main unit travelson the ground about a fixed central point.

9. An irrigating machine as in claim 1 in which the movement of aselected unit out of substantially level position relative to anadjacent unit controls in a corresponding fashion the effect of thepropelling motor on said selected unit.

10. An irrigating machine as in claim 9 in which a selected unitextendin downhill from an adjacent unit is advanced relatlve to sal adacent unit an amount substantially sufficient to compensate for tensionbetween said units due to said downhill position of said selected unit.

ll. An irrigating machine as in claim 9 in which a selected unitextending uphill from an adjacent unit is retarded relative to saidadjacent unit an amount substantially sufficient to compensate forcompression between said units due to said uphill position of saidselected unit.

12. An irrigating machine as in claim 1 in which the relative positionof a selected unit with respect to an adjacent unit when measured in avertical plane controls the relative position of said selected unit withrespect to said adjacent unit when measured in a horizontal plane.

13. An irrigating machine as in claim 1 in which the angularrelationship of a selected unit with respect to an adjacent unit whenmeasured in a vertical plane and in a horizontal plane controls theeffect of the propelling motor on said selected unit.

14. An irrigating machine as in claim 1 in which both said mainpropelling motor and said auxiliary propelling motor are controlled byduplex switches and said switches are actuated to deenergize which everpropelling motor is advanced relative to the other propelling motor.

15. An irrigating machine as in claim 1 in which the movement of aselected unit longitudinally with respect to an adjacent unit controlsin a corresponding fashion the effect of the propelling means to producean opposite longitudinal movement.

16. An irrigating machine as in claim 1 in which a longitudinal forceextended between two adjacent units controls in a corresponding fashionthe effect of the propelling means to produce an opposite longitudinalforce.

